I.T. POINT 11, H.I.G.

DOUBLE STOREY, RATAN LAL NAGAR KANPUR (LC CODE- 00918)

A SYNOPSIS REPORT ON

Marketing Strategy Opted by the Apollo Tyres

Under the guidance of

Mrs. Reema Saxena Submitted By Shhardul Gautam REG.NO. 571123783 in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree Of

Master of Business Administration

IN

Marketing Management
SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY Directorate of Distance Education Syndicate House, Manipal - 576104
www.smude.edu.in (2012-2013)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is with real pleasure that, I record my indebtedness to my academic Guide, Lecturer Mrs. Reema Saxena for his guidance during the preparation of this project. I am grateful to (Director) Mr. S.K. Arora and my sincere thanks to all faculty members of The SMU, IT Point Kanpur (LC Code: 00918)

Place: Kanpur (SHHARDUL GAUTAM) Date: 571123783

REG.NO:

TOPIC CONTENT

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................6
COMPANY PROFILE.............................................................................14

LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................27 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY............................................................46 FINDING AND ANALYSIS...................................................................49 CONCLUSION......................................................................................74 RECOMMENDATION...........................................................................79 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................80

INTRODUCTION
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Over a period of more than two decades the Indian Automobile Industry has been driving its own growth through phases. The entry of Suzuki Corporation in Indian passenger car manufacturing is often pointed as the first sign of India turning to a market economy. Since then the automobile sector witnessed rapid growth year after year. By late-90's the industry reached self reliance in engine and component manufacturing from the status of large scale importer. With comparatively higher rate of economic growth rate index against that of great global powers, India has become a hub of domestic and exports business. The automobile sector has been contributing its share to the shining economic performance of India in the recent years. With the Indian middle class earning higher per capita income, more people are ready to own private vehicles including cars and two-wheelers. Product movements and manned services have boosted in the sales of medium and sized commercial vehicles for passenger and goods transport. The data obtained from Ministry of Commerce and Industry, shows high growth obtained since 2001-02 in automobile production continuing in the first three quarters of the 2004-05. Annual growth was 16.0 per cent in April-December, 2004; the growth rate in 2003-04 was 15.1 per cent The automobile industry grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22 per cent between 1992 and 1997. With investment exceeding Rs. 50,000 crore, the turnover of the automobile industry exceeded Rs. 59,518 crore in 2002-03. Including turnover of the auto-component sector, the automotive industry's turnover, which was above Rs. 84,000 crore in 2002-03, is estimated to have exceeded Rs.1,00,000 crore ( USD 22. 74 billion) in 2003-04. Automobile Dealers Network in India In terms of Car dealer networks and authorized service stations, Maruti leads the pack with Dealer networks and workshops across the country. The other leading automobile manufacturers are also trying to cope up and are opening their service stations and dealer workshops in all the metros and major cities of the country. Dealers offer varying kind of

discount of finances who in tern pass it on to the customers in the form of reduced interest rates. Major Manufacturers in Automobile Industry Maruti Udyog Ltd. General Motors India Ford India Ltd. Eicher Motors Bajaj Auto Daewoo Motors India Hero Motors Hindustan Motors Hyundai Motor India Ltd. Royal Enfield Motors Telco TVS Motors DC Designs Swaraj Mazda Ltd

COMPANY PROFILE
In todays world of intense competition and rapid dynamism, all the companies worldwide are tuning their focuses on the customer. Suddenly, the customer had succeeded in capturing all the attention of the companies towards him, so much so, that the once famous maxim, customer is the god has become so true and relevant today. There has been a paradigm shift in the thinking of these companies and none other then the customer has brought this about. Earlier there was a sellers market, since goods and services were in short supply and the sellers use to call the shots. But, ever since the advent of the era of globalization, there has been total transformation in the way the customers being perceived. Today, marketers are directing their efforts in retaining the customers and customers base. Their focus has shifted towards integrating the three elements people, service and marketing. The customers importance has assumed imponderable proportions in todays world, because of the inherent value that the customers command. A customers can make or break a company. It is the responsibility of every company to see that all its customers are equally satisfied with them, for one single dissatisfied customer will tell at least nine others about the dissatisfaction and will spark off a chain reaction and spell doom for that company. In such scenario, retention of the existing customers assumes diabolical proportion. Research has thrown light on some important aspects of customers retention it has been proved empirically that acquiring new customers can cost five times more than the cost involved in satisfying and retaining current customers. In the past, the customers was taken for a ride, as there were not many players in the fields, not much importance was attached to product safety, quality, service and product appeal. The attitude of the manufacture was that of caveat emptor. Thanks to the government policies on liberalization, globalization and privatization (LPG), the market scenario has changed today. Today, the customer has a host of defense mechanism like the customers protection laws, regulation of the government, the powerful hands of the organization, customers courts, switching to substitute or competitors that offer at competitive prices, etc. The maxim, caveat emptor has been replaced by caveat venditor.

In the past, after sales service was consider as a cost center, Companies were lethargic in attending to customers complaints. Availability of trainee service personal and quality genuine spare parts posed serious problems. However, with the rising competition, there could not be much product differentiation, as price and quality were comparable and latest technology was to each and every company in the field. Since, there could not be much differential a tangible assets, the companies concentrated on the intangible assets, namely the service factor, which served as a major differentiator. Today after sales service is an important aspect of every company, and it is no more considered as a cost center, but considered as a profit center. Every organization strives hard to retain its existing customers at any cost since it is five times costly to get a new customers, then to retain an existing customers. Today most of the industries use information technology to best services to their customers.

LITRATURE REVIEW
MARKETING for APOLLO Developing a global brand largely depends on the brands ability to explore fresh avenues and to sustain its competitive advantages in terms of economies of scale and productivity. A global brand is one which is perceived to reflect the same set of values around the world. A global brand removes the national barriers and linguistic blocks while marketing internationally. The basic of brand building applies to the global branding strategy also. For a brand to become successful, a genuine demand or a psychological need must exist in the market. Today when we are looking at a global market, one has to realize that at the most basic level all human beings share common physiological and safety needs as explained by Maslow. What separates a customer from another customer at some distant geographic location is the complex social, cultural and esteem needs of the customer depending upon the stage at which the civilization/ nation is in the process of development. One common understanding is that despite centuries of technological development these needs have remained as crucial as ever. At best they have undergone changes /modifications due to cultural and social processes. The real challenges comes for a brand manager when he has to make the consumer aware about the product/service offered in a distinctive pattern ,may be with a name, logo or color so that the strategy enables the customer to correctly identify and choose the brand from a cluttered basket. The brands strength is not confined to the degree of recognizability and the quality of the product offering. Brands deliver more than just a predictable assurance about quality. Strong global brands deliver to the strong emotional need. A brand like Nike talks about believing in ones limitlessness. Rin speaks about destroying dirt which we see in its most fundamental form as a threat that disrupts the neat orderly world that we live in! A strong global brand while addressing a fundamental human motivation delivers to this motivation in a distinctive way. They are driven by distinctive brand ideas. The product is seen in the market place as an expression of brand idea. The product merely translates the brand idea in to a tangible form with features and styles that is delivered to the

consumer. Dettol being a global brand is driven by an idea of absolute certainty it provides in feeling protected against the hostile forces of the dirty world. This brand idea the APOLLO is pursuing through out the globe irrespective of the fact to which cultural domain they are targeting for. Consumers in all these countries experience the brand idea only through the strategic actions of the brand in the market place. These brands send market signals consistent with the idea that they stand for. Starting from the tangible attribution of the brand through the product to the integrated marketing communication, the brand consistently sends the same signal in every market. The more consistent is this marketing signal, more clear is the brand image across the country for the global brands. The research suggest that strong brands and are built over time. A brand trust gets built over a large number of interactions across a range of situations. So a strong global brand is like a network of complex psychological and market structural issues that include situations, associations, behaviors feelings and symbols held by a strong and powerful driver with a central idea. A successful marketing strategy has two options in creating a market presence. It has to kill competition by constant communication and advertising or use communication to make the customers feel the method to discriminate in favor of the brand. A strong global brand creates associations in consumer mind to make them see differently by guiding consumers to attach distinct functional and emotional benefits and appropriate meanings and beliefs to the brand. As a response to this effort the consumer is willing to pay a premium for these brands only if they represent added value whether as superior quality or a clear emotional benefit. The brand communication should also communicate and connect to the people. The connectivity of Britannia with health is well felt all over the world. This connectivity is the rational justification for them to overcome the extra spending to acquire the brand. Successful brands live beyond generations due to this connectivity. It is not only satisfying customers of different countries with varied cultural background but also connects with new generations with their new set of values, hopes and ambitions. For a successful global brand it has to click across the vertical class of generations and horizontal mass of global market. In a global economy organizations must reach customers in markets far from their home base. Strong brand acts as an ambassador when the companies enter new market or offer
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new products. It also helps in rectifying the corporate strategy to define which initiatives fit within the brand concept. Brand building for service firms have to modify their corporate strategy also. Professional Services APOLLO such as Anderson consulting re-branded as Accenture have realized that conveying a sense of trust and shared mission is as important as technical competence in winning multi million dollar contracts across the globe. Information and the media have made us all global citizens. This presents an APOLLO with the opportunity to broaden market scope by internationalizing product and service marketing in order to reap the benefits of economies of scale.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Objective

To understand the objectives of the marketing strategy of Apollo Tyres. To study the different product differentiation for the Apollo tyres. To analyze the customer and retailers view about the selling Apollo tyres. To recommend feasible improvements in the marketing strategy opted by the Apollo tyres.

HYPOTHESIS

After three decades of consistent growth, Apollo Tyres Ltd, a Gurgaon-based tyre manufacturer, has emerged as one of the premier tyre manufacturers in India. Starting with one plant and an installed capacity of 4,20,000 each of tyres and tubes, Apollo currently has eight plants in the country. A ninth plant in south India, with a capacity of 2.4 million radial truck tyres, will be added soon. The company is credited with India's first radials and first range of high-speed tubeless passenger car tyres. It has spread its wings internationally too. Apollo has grown inorganically to establish its market presence across 30 African countries. A recent acquisition adds Europe as its third crucial market.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Secondary Data:

It will consist of information that already exists somewhere in documents. The secondary data will be collected from the newspapers, expert reports, internet and Apollo Tyres Companys website, etc. Internet :- www.google.com, www.wikipedia.com, etc Past records and analysis Books, Magazines & Journals.

Both primary and secondary data will be collected to analyze:

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 Existing market scenario of Indian market with respect to auto industry. Customers views regarding Indian automotive Industry. Experts opinion regarding Indian Industry and contribution of Apollo tyres into it.
PRIMARY DATA:

Primary data will be collected from the people from Apollo tyres as an marketing manager or senior level management. The primary information will be collected through questionnaire and Interviews presented to the Apollo tyres customers and retailers. Questionnaire Structured Dichotomous, open ended, multiple choice
Tool Used: Bar Graph, Pie Diagram

Personal Interview General Discussions

SAMPLING METHOD: Random Sampling chosen by the gathering of data

SAMPLE SIZE: 100 people

TARGET AUDIENCE: Marketing manager of the firm, retailers based at Delhi and NCR and customers.

SCOPE OF THE WORK To analyze the existing performance marketing strategy done by the Apollo tyres, its effectiveness and recommendations and measures to improve the procedure in the organization;

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JUSTIFICATION OF THE CHOOSING TOPIC

Tyre manufacturers have had a rough time in the past one year. While demand shrunk in the backdrop of slowdown in the automobile sector, raw material prices soared, denting margins extensively. High cost of funding too added to the woes. However, there has been a substantial correction in prices from the highs seen in FY09. Rubber and crude oil are both at much lower levels. Prices of crude oil derivatives such as carbon black, synthetic rubber, nylon cord fabric and rubber chemicals have brought significant respite to all tyre majors

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CONCLUSION
The paper provides an empirical view of the range of promotions launched in the Indian market place from 2003 to 2009. The different promotions include free gift offers, price offs, extra product offers, exchange offers, buy-more-and-save offers, contests and sweepstakes. The most frequently launched promotion is the free gift offer followed by the sweepstake offer and extra product offer. Some differences in trends are found across Consumer Durable and Service sectors. A detailed description of each type of promotion is provided in order to highlight the different incentives offered by such promotions. Details about Different Types of Promotions The specific details about the different types of promotions - price offs, free gift offers, sweepstakes, extra product offers, contests, exchange offers and buy-more-and-save/get offers - are discussed in the following section.

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RECOMMENDATION
In the modern world, one brand is continuously pitted against the other and battles are continuously being fought on the parameters of quality, reputation and market share. Brands are competing on a one-to-one basis on a regional, national and global level. It goes without saying that one of the biggest developments which defined marketing strategy is brand strategy. The entire packaging of a product or service is in the form of a brandwhich in effect is one large formation.It was intense competition among the FMCGs on various fronts that made the multibranding approach very important. Whether it is in soaps, TVs, apparel or toothpaste segments, the endeavour is always to capture a market with the best possible gross margins. One-to-one battles that are being fought are all in the quest of dominating the gained market space. Multibranding as a concept and executable marketing paradigm was pioneered by the FMCGs followed by the consumer durables players. It has now moved on to the packaged food products segment and will soon swamp the hospitality and other highly service-oriented businesses and sectors. According to our survey suggested that The occupation of the respondents was very much fluctuating. This is done so as to gain more knowledge about the different strata of the society. Also from the result clearly mentioned that 30 % people are service man including working in Private firm, MNC or multi national organization. While 25 % are student because we want to know that how new generation is aware about the 100 % safe parameter. Apart from this 10 % respondents are house wife a significant number is required because until or unless house wife is not contributed there views that AC advertisement would not be successful it also reflected from our survey result that Here it is quite clear that it is the respondent purchase there product because of Design is good by 35 % where as for issue of price is 15% and the 25% people says they purchasing of AC depends on look wise whether that product fit for the buyer or not. Like any marketing, the concept to be sold has to have some value in the minds of the prospects. The first step, therefore, is to develop a 'value proposition'. No one buys a concept or a product if it has no value for him. A potent question for the hospital mentioned above would have been 'Why would our people work harder for accreditation? What is in it

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for them?' If they were able to create a valuable enough answer to this question, the idea would have been sold. Second step is to clearly identify the target group. Sometimes, there may be many target groups. Marketing to each group will differ according to their preferences, skills, intellect, etc. Third step is to find out various ways to promote the concept. Remember, you have to promote the idea in more than one way. You may have to use a combination of various vehicles to promote your idea. APOLLO Ltd is planning to roll out a new marketing initiative called A World Class Customer Experience. As part of its marketing strategy, the company plans to focus on enhancing its entire value chain which includes technology, quality, price, delivery and after-sales-service. According to Mr B Thiagarajan, senior general manager (corporate communications and marketing), APOLLO Ltd, the company is also enhancing its focus on some fast-growing segments such as telecom, multiplexes and the healthcare markets. As part of the strategy, APOLLO Ltd is looking for strategic partners to enter into a technological tie-up for high-end telecom airconditioning equipment, adds Mr Thiagarajan. For the purpose, the company is currently in talks with UK-based Eaton Williams Group, an airconditioning major. On APOLLOs new marketing initiatives, Mr Thiagarajan says that the companys objective is to focus on intangible factors such as views and feelings of the customers which contribute to a good customer experience.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blattberg R. and Scott A. Neslin (1990), Sales Promotion: Concepts, Methods, and Strategies. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Blattberg R.C, Briesch R. and Fox E.J. (1995), How Promotions Work, Marketing Science, Vol. 14, G122-132. Campbell, L. and Diamond, W. D. (1990), Framing and Sales Promotion: the Characteristics of a Good Deal, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 7, pp.25-31 Cooke, Ernest F., What is Sales Promotion? paper presented at Sales Promotion Workshop, Babson College, May 23, 1983. Diamond W. D. (1992) Just what is a Dollars Worth? Consumer Reactions to Price Discounts vs. Extra Product Promotions, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 68, pp. 254-270. Diamond W.D., and Sanyal A., (1990), The Effect of Framing on Choice of Supermarket Coupons, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 17, pp. 494-500 Diamond W.D., and Campbell, L. (1989) The Framing of Sales Promotions: Effects on Reference Price Change, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 16, pp. 241-247. Simonson, I., Carmon Z. and O'Curry S. (1994) Experimental Evidence on the Negative Effect of Product Features and Sales Promotion on Brand Choice, Marketing Science, Vol. 13 (1), pp. 23-41. Smith M.F. and Sinha I. (2000), The Impact of Price and Extra Product Promotions on Store Preference, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Vol.

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28, pp. 83-92.

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